ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

The advantage with freeform cone spacing is that you can set it to fit the slope you are using. Since 100 cones is a long way it's hard to get a perfect slope (even though I agree that we don't know what the perfect slope is yet). If steep you might want to set longer spacing. If flat you might want tighter spacing. This to simplify for the racers to get a good rythm through the whole course. But then again. What is a good rythm? Maybe fast in the beginning and slower towards the end. Who knows. And we shouldn't forget that there is not an exact cone spacing for a particular racer anyway. The skater is flexible within a certain margin. From where it is so fast the he will only wiggle as fast as he can through the cones to where it is so slow that he will pump his maximum to keep his max speed. Going over your speed limit you will start hitting cones and probably not even make it. Going under your speed limit you will loose time.

I remember the course in Paris -95. The first 1/3 of the course was steep and way to fast for any normal skater (like myself). The last 2/3 was almost flat and you could choose the speed yourself. In this case I would have liked to have longer cone spacing in the first 1/3 compared to the last 2/3. And then the question arises. Would this have been a disadvantage for the better skaters? Personally I don't think so. They would just have increased their speed to have their max limit with the longer cone distance anyway. I guess what I'm trying to say that maybe the course setting is not that delicat after all. In the end you can just go as fast as you can. And if you are the fastest you will have the fastest time as long as the course are within the skaters max/min speed margins.

IMHO the great thing about the 100 cone event is that there are no set standards except we can expect to use "the standard" cone size. So there is really little bickering over hill- surface, wind conditions- whatever.

The fact that the start is at the first cone and finishes at the last cone (we could assume at the edge of the cone not the center of the cone) and that the start is open...makes the start a non issue. The 100 cone length makes the cone spacing a near non issue- all I think we could expect is that the cone spacing is consistent from cone to cone.

So part of the record involves finding an ideal place to do it- getting a good skater in great shape on good gear....or any combination of 2 the above.

This event encourages a good pump and stamina and is grueling training for all slalomers who want a shot at skaters they may have never met. It also encourages people to BUY 100 cones so you would have enough for 2 dual 50 cone courses or certainly anough to double up your cones for a single course of 50 on a windy day....(btw Turnerdownhill.com just reduced the prices of the cones.... Christmas is coming....so ask for those cones in your stockings).

It also encourages all skaters to find a good area for 100 cones which would mean a good pitch, good surface, and a long course- which means you will have probably found a good place to hold a contest if you find a place you could try to run 100 cones withou getting kicked out.

Just try it for kicks....not something I would reccomend practicing much, but you've got to do it once.

Michael,

it is always inner hole to inner hole around here. On the other hand, DC's longboard class requires 30 inches between the axles.

YOU WANT FREEDOM OF CONE SPACING?

HERE YOU GO-

"THE DEATHBOX EXPRESSION SESSION II - PARK PARTY"
and PARK SLALOM EVENT!

Sponsored by:

Deathbox skateboards, Osiris Shoes, Gravity Boarding Company,
and RedBull

During the January ASR tradeshow - Jan, 24th, 2003 from 7PM - 12

Complete, with the f irst ever PARK SLALOM EVENT!

Imagine, the first 60 invitees to the party, pay a $20.00
entry fee to race best of two timed runs on a course through
out the free/streetstyle area of the SkateLab indoor park!
Sign Up will be at the event. Directions t o the park, and other info can be
found at: http://www.skatelab.com (California Park)

This course will be fast, and will include between 15 and 25
cones, some of which will be mounted on vertical surfaces!!!

This will be a unique event - merging sla lom (The Soul of Skateboarding) with Street and Vert riding talent to determine the victor!

You will
need a banked slalom / vert board to be competitive in this event.

The event will pay to 3rd place and award trophies, ribbons, medals
or plaques to 10th.

There will also be either a live band, DJ, Food and Beverages, and
plenty of bowl riding and free skating and hanging out going on.

Be there, with your RACE FACE ON!!!

HACKETT - BLACK LEATHER RACING

The fact that the start is at the first cone and finishes at the last cone (we could assume at the edge of the cone not the center of the cone) and that the start is open...makes the start a non issue.

John, I'm afraid to say that if you assume start and finish at the edge of the cone it is an issue. I don't know how Sweeney did with his record but I'm sure we measured from the center of the cones in Paris -95 (for Gianmarco's record).

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Hans Koraeus on 2002-12-14 19:47 ]</font>

Well center to center would be more accurate- I did not notice where the tapes were at the 95 race. Do you ever have a problem with people in a turn while riding on a tapeswitch?

John, about problems with a tapeswitch on the first cone I can only speak for myself (not very experienced slalom skater).

I guess if you use a tapeswitch that is too high it would be annoying. The only tapeswitches I have experience of is Jani's (that has been used on many european competitions for as long as I can remember). Those are very flat and he puts silver tape over them to attach them to the ground. I have never had any problems with them and I've never heard anyone complain either.

Furthermore the first cone (and the last) you normally don't take with a full turn anyway which should minimize the problem.

But if using tapeswitches inside the course for 50 and 75 cone timing for example then it would increase the risk of annoyance. But here I don't have any experiance. I can't remember any slalom competition using "intermediate timing" (I don't know the english word for it). I for my self like the idea very much and for 100 cones it would be very interesting since the course is long enough.

I'm doing this thing on New Years Day and I'm going to break the "record."

You go for it Mike!

So did you break the record Mike?

I guess not!

Well, now I got a hundred cones.
And, no, you can't have any.
Behave yourself, though, and maybe I'll let you ride around mine!

I just heard we may have a side event of a 100 cone course at Grueningen for whoever still has power to go for it after the race, so show up and lets try.

I was watching old (10-15 year old) video of Keith Hollien and Myself. I came across a 100 cone 6'center to center on a 7 deg. slope. the times were under 25 seconds. Tight-fast-down-hill courses are raceable when you are good.

[ This Message was edited by: Mark McCree on 2003-01-27 18:00 ]

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I just read this post by Mark McCree. By any account, this claim is close to the top recorded timed runs by the fastest Europeans in the middle of their last wave of interest...

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On 2002-11-23 12:22, Jani Soderhall wrote:
I finally located the complete results of the 100 cone World Record breaking at Verrieres Open, France 1995.


World record holders:
Men: Luca Giammarco, Italy 20.56
Women: Yelena Sinadolova, Russia 23.55
Juniors: Alexey Alekseyev, Russia 33.98

These times are including time penalties (0.1 per cone).

Judging from the results it is difficult to make a perfectly clean run on a 100 cone course. Actually the only one who did in the contest was myself in my second attempt and my time was 2 seconds behind Luca's.

Luca hit 4 cones in his best run, 2 in his second attempt. John you hit 6. I hit 2 in my best run.

When the next official world record attempt shows on TV it would be great if the new record man does it clean, but if others in their attempts hits cones it'll just add to the excitement. If everybody makes clear runs it might actually look too easy.

A 100-cone "world record" attempt is to be held in Maryland during the first Summer Outlaw series race next weekend.

Rumours say that Luca is convinced that one can do much better than his record. He was too tired after 70 cones and after a full day of skating he couldn't do his best. Hold on to your hats! He thinks he can shave off another 1-2 seconds of that old record! So if someone wants to have a go at that world record you better speed up before he gives it a second shot.

By the way he wasn't happy about the new rule we "inofficially" have decided upon about free cone spacing. He thinks it should be 1.70, period. But I haven't personally spoken to him about this. And I'm sure I could convince him of the reason why it is a good idea with free cone spacing.

I’m going to try 4 feet gates. Plankk-R is making me a board for that. Sweeney-Matsukevich model. One foot axle-to-axle.

We ran 100 cones at 6ft at the RFK racetrack in Washington, DC. The surface is ideal. 100A wheels would be useful there. 92As back/front were used without a slide.
The place is perfect for outlaw races/events, but it’s not a good 100-cone place. About ½ the Trocadero slope with flat and uphill sections toward the end. We had a nice tail breeze that helped quite a bit.

I used GS wheels and got into 19s but hit too many cones. 21.2 with 3 cones was the best attempt. Hard wheels are about 1 second faster. If that hill was a bit steeper, 18s would have been possible. We will train.

I’ll try to have videos/pictures in the future.

Vlad.

Cone spacing and hills vary, but when us UK guys tried 100 cones the rule was, no cone hits, none, not at all...zilch, zero. cleans runs only count.

Hitting the last cone at Brands on a 100 cone run is a bummer. I know.

When we tried to run 100 cones clean, that is without hitting one single cone- as in zilch, zero, none- our times were up to 10% slower.
Given the unlimited amount of runs it is possible to score a good time on a clean run. Eventually.

Given the constrains of the official slalom competition where official records are set an exercises for cleanness might just turn a 100 cone challenge in 2 runs into a joke.

To each his own. At our racetrack 23 sec clean would have been -and I'm sure is- no problem.

I'm sure that to get a true "world record" some form of rules whould need to be set. I quite like the idea of the harshness of "no cones or your out". But second choice would need to have a limit of, say 3 cones, with a time penalty?
As for the chance that timing of events would leave contenders having only 2 runs, my own view is that for a true world record to be set it would need to be limited to 2, or certainly under 5 competitors going for the record, under tight scrutinization. For a cyber style timing thats a different matter, and less closely regulated.
In conclusion, I'd favour this: 100 cones, unlimited push, any spacing so long as it was dead straight, any hill, and no cone hits. Second choice, 3 cones max, with time penalty of one tenth?
Id also suggest we decide where timing beams should be, and I reckon that should be at first and last cone.
Does anyone know what the current "rules" are??? If there are any then stick with those maybe?

As I said last winter, I don't understand the problem with a "clean run 100-cone record." Ok, Luca has a 100-cone adjusted record of 20 seconds. If someone wants to run that, great.

But a 100-cone CLEAN RUN RECORD would stand on its own. If the best CLEAN RUN is 23 seconds or 24 seconds, then that's the CLEAN RUN record.

Earlier this year, there was some controversey regarding "raw times." Some skaters were touting their "raw times" as an indication of slalom prowess. Whether that is legitimate or not is another discussion. In terms, though, of the 100-cone challenge, there would be no need for discussion: raw time and adjusted time would be synonomous. Also, by making the clean run the standard, there would be no argument regarding "appropriate" penalties: .10th of a second? 2/10th? 10 cones max without penalty? Or as someone facetiously suggested, hit 100 cones in 10 seconds, take a 1/10th penalty per cone and post a 20 second adjusted time.

Whadda 'ya gonna do?

These are the current proposed rules...

100 cone rules ver 1.2
-------------------------------------------
1. 100 straight "full sized" cones, timed from the middle of first cone to the middle of the last cone.
2. Cone penalty 0.1 sek for each "cone hit".

- "Full sized" = Minimum base diameter 12,5 cm / 5" and minimum hight 20,5 cm / 8".
- "Cone hit" = Fallen cone or outside base circle.
-------------------------------------------

Blaze into a 100 cone straight course with whatever start you like, on any hill, with any slope, with any surface, with any wind, with any cone spacing in any temperature and adjust your time with penalties. The smallest adjusted time wins. Do it with your friends and you have an unofficial time. Do it at a sanctioned event, you might just have a world record.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Hans Koraeus on 2003-07-28 07:09 ]</font>

We have had the discussion of clean runs or not for the 100 cone discipline and I think it was clear that that was not the way to go. Doing a clean run or not for 100 cones is more luck than skill. At least if you are pumping the s#it out of your board. And that is what we want to do, no? Otherwise this discipline will be lame. I'm ok with Wes though that it would be nice to have an eye on the fastest clean runs as well. And even having a price for this as well.

If the cone fobics are numerous we could always add a rule of maximum cones allowed to hit.

Maybe we should add to the rules also what official results means. In my view it is an official competition with the 100-cone discipline annonced. 2 runs for each racer. Best time counts (including cone penalty of course).